Smoke-house.



No. 882,787. PATENTED MAR. 24, 1908.

' E. T. MALLOY.

SMOKE HOUSE.

APPLICATION FILED DEG.19.1906.

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PATENT ()FFICE.

EDWARD r. MALLOY,

OF HAMILTON, OHIO.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 24, 1908.

Application filedDecember 19, 1906. Serial No. 348,624.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD T. MALLOY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hamilton, Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Smoke-Houses, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to smoke houses of the class adapted to use in the curing of meat, fish or other substances and the objects of my improvement are to economize floor space; to provide means for turning and for moving the substances to different elevations during the curing process; to provide means for pre venting side meat from warping or wrinkling to provide ventilators for drying the meat before and means for cooling it after it is smoked; and to provide a durable, eflicient and economical device with maximum capacity.

These objects are attained in the following described manner as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:--

Figure 1 is a transverse vertical section on.

the dotted line a-a of Fig. 2 of a smoke house embodying my improvements; Fi 2, a front interior view with the front wal' removed; Figs. 3, 4, and 5 respectively a plan, a longitudinal section and a transverse section with parts broken away of a basket for side meat or fish Figs. 6 and 7 details of the chain shifting mechanism. v

In the drawings, 1 represents the end walls, 2 and 3 the front and rear walls and 4 the roof of a rectangular smoke house containing a smoke chamber 5 of any desired height and a furnace 6 thereunder. The roof is provided with ventilating openings 7 which may be closed by means of hinged shutters 8. The front wall contains a transverse opening 9 which may be closed by means of a vertically sliding door 11-. A vertically swinging shelf 12 hinged on the front wall 2 below said opening may be turned inwardly therethrough in contact with fixed stops 13 when the sliding door is raised. The furnace is provided with a feeding door 14 and communicates with a chimney 15 through an opening which may be controlled by a damper 17.

A partition 21 between the furnace and the smoke chamber consists of hinged slats 22 movably connected together by a rod 23 and provided with a hand lever 24, whereby they may be opened or closed in like manner to an ordinary slatted window shutter. A perforated or foraminous partition 25 located directly over partition 21 prevents any substances from falling into the furnace from the smoke chamber. It also tends to prevent the flame from ascending therethrough from the furnace without obstructing the smoke in its ascent.

' Short shafts 26 mounted on the top of the end walls 1 are provided with sprocket wheels 27 on the inside of the smoke chamber and with sprocket wheels 28 on the outside thereof which are driven by means of sprocket chains 29 from counter shaft 31. counter shaft is mounted on the outside of the rear wall 3 and is actuated from driving shaft 32 by means of a worm gear mechanism 33. Said driving shaft 32 is supported on bracket 34 and provided with a pulley 35, whereby it may be driven by a belt from a source of power. Similar shafts 36 are extended with in horizontal grooves 37 formed in the end walls 1 adjacent to opening 9. One of said shafts is j ournaled in bracket 34 and driven in either of opposite directions from the driving shaft 32 by means of reversing belt connections 38 therewith. The other shaft 36 is simultaneously actuated therefrom by means of cross shaft 39 and bevel gear connections 1 40 therewith.

Housings 41 provided with idlers 42 are threaded on the front portion of the respective shafts 36 and are movable thereby in the grooves 37 with the idlers toward or from the opening 9. After the housings are moved rearwardly beyond the threaded portion of said shafts the exertion of coiled springs 43 serve to rengage them with the threaded portion to be carried thereby in a forward direction by reversing the direction of the rotation of said shafts.

Endless chains 44 carried by wheels 27 depend therefrom between guide rolls 20 to a short distance above the furnace. Arms 45 pivotally secured to the end walls carry idle sprocket wheels 46 which are vertically movable and rideon the lower portion of said chains to maintain them in proper position. Idlers 47 mounted at fixed points on the end walls adjacent to the lower portion of opening 9 and prevent said chains from coming in contact With the edge of the swinging shelf 12 when they are moved in a forward direction by means of idlers 42 as shown in Fig. 1.

One or more baskets 59 each consists of a perforated metal frame 61 se arated into apartments by means of doub e transverse Said perforated partitions 62 to prevent the contents of adjacent apartments from contact and a hinged lid 63 of foraminous metal which is retained in the open position by means of jointed brace 64 and in the closed position by means of a spring catch 65. A movable bottom 66 for each apartment and preferably consisting of foraminous metal is yieldingly supported therein on the frame by means of springs 67 thereunder. Each of said baskets is rigidly secured at its respective ends to the chains 44, whereby it is maintained in a horizontal plane and in normal and inverted positions during its respective movements up and down with the travel of said chains. Pipe 68 serves to admit steam from a source (not shown) for extinguishing fires which may accidentally occur within the smoke chamber, and pipe 69 serves to admit cold air from a blower (not shown).

In operation, the sliding door should be raised, the swinging shelf turned inwardly through opening 9 to rest on stops 13 and the chains moved toward said opening by means of idlers 42 as shown in Fig. 1. The chains 44 may then be moved with the different transverse members thereon successively over the swinging shelf where they are most accessible for either loading or unloading.

The baskets 59 are especially serviceable for side meat which may be placed therein and prevented from becoming distorted in shape or wrinkled by being yieldingly clamped between the movable bottom and the lid, and whereby it will be inverted in passing the wheels 27 and also the idlers 46 and maintained in a horizontal position with one side up during its upward and the other side up during its downward I movement with the travel of the chains 44. After the members on chains 44 are loaded, idlers 42 should be moved rearwardl'y to permit the chains 44 to depend in straight lines from wheels 27 as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1.

When the meat becomes partially dried the ventilating o enings in the roof and opening 9 should e closed and the shutter partition 2 opened to admit the smoke and eat therethrough from the furnace to the smoke chamber thereover. The wheels 27 may be then actuated to carry the rack with its load up and down either continuously or intermittently through the smoke chamber during its exposure to the curative action of the smoke therein.

After the curing and smoking process is completed the door 11 and shutters 8 may be opened and partition 21 closed to facilitate the cooling of the meat by a current of cold air through pipe 69 from the blower. For unloading, the idlers 42 with the chains 44 should be moved in a forward direction and the swinging shelf turned to rest on stops 13. In this position the chains 44 may be turned with the different transverse members successi vel y adjacent to opening 9 for @On'v'e'n:

ience in removing the load therefrom.

States is 1. The combination of wheels, endlesschains depending therefrom, a closed recep-- tacle supported between the chains and means for rotating the wheels with the chains.

2. The combination of wheels, endless chains depending therefrom, a perforated closed receptacle supported between the chains, and means for simultaneously rotating the wheels with the chains.

3. The combination of wheels, endless chains depending therefrom, a receptacle provided with a movable bottom and supported between the chains, and means for simultaneously rotating the wheels with the chains.

4. The combination of wheels, endless chains depending therefrom, a receptacle provided with a perforated top and a perforated movable bottom, and supported between the chains, and means for simultaneously rotating the wheels with the chains.

5. The combination of depending endless chains, a receptacle supported thereby and provided with springs, a perforated bottom yieldingly supported on the springs, and means for simultaneously driving the chains.

6. The combination of wheels, endless chains carried thereby, means for driving the wheels with the chains, and a receptacle secured to the chains and inverted thereby in passing over the wheels.

7. The combination of depending endless chains, means for driving them simultaneously, a receptacle carried by the chains and provided with a hinged lid and with a movable bottom.

8. The combination of depending endless chains, means for driving them simultaneously, and receptacles supported in horizon tal positions on the chains and provided with a lid and with a movable bottom.

9. The combination of wheels, endless chains depending therefrom, guide rolls therefor, receptacles carried between the chains, means for closing the receptacles and means for driving the chains in either of op" posite directions.

10. The combination of wheels supported at fixed points, means for rotating them simultaneously, depending endless chains carried by the wheels, and receptacles car ried between the chains and formed with separate apartments, and a bottom yieldingly supported in each apartment.

11. The combination of wheels supported at fixed points, depending endless chains car ried thereby, a meat carrying receptacle se= cured at its respective ends to the chains,

idlers for the chains, and power actuated screw mechanism for moving the idlers with a portion of the chains out of a vertical line.

12. The combination of endless chains depending from simultaneously movable wheels, a receptacle supported between said chains and divided into separate apartments by means of a partition, and means for exerting a yielding pressure on the contents of each apartment.

13. The combination of a closed receptacle, means for moving it in a vertical plane and for inverting it at intervals during its move ment.

14. The combination of a closed receptacle provided with different apartments, means for maintaining a yielding pressure on the contents of each apartment, and means for carrying the receptacle in a horizontal position through different elevations and for automatically inverting it at predetermined points in its movement.

15. The combination of wheels, endless chains depending therefrom, carrying members supported between them, idle wheels supported on the chains and means for movably connecting the wheels with adjacent walls.

16. The combination of wheels, endless chains depending therefrom, a carrying member supported between the chains, idle guide rolls for the chains, idle wheels su ported by the depending portion of tie chains and arms pivotally connecting said wheels with adjacent walls.

17. In a smoke house, the combination of a chamber provided with a door, endless chains depending therein, means for driving them simultaneously, a receptacle supported between the chains, and screw actuated mechanism for moving the chains with the receptacle in a lateral direction toward the door.

18. In a smoke house, the combination of a receptacle, means for clampingthe contents therein under a yielding pressure, and means for moving the receptacle vertically.

EDWARD T. MALLOY.

Witnesses:

R. S. CARR, ELMER O. PFALZGRAF. 

